New opposition head gives renewed hope to Syrians BEIRUT (AP) — Syria's political opposition has struggled to prove its relevance amid the civil war under a leadership largely made up of academics and exiled politicians. With its relaunch as a new organization, it has taken a different tack: choosing as its head a popular Muslim cleric who preaches sectarian unity and can fire up a crowd. The selection of a moderate religious figure, Mouaz al-Khatib, to head the Syrian National Coalition for ...

UN warns of escalating humanitarian need in Syria UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The United Nations is warning that the number of people inside Syria needing humanitarian aid could rise sharply from 2.5 million now to 4 million by early next year if the civil war grinds on at its current deadly pace. John Ging, operations director for the U.N. humanitarian office, said the U.N. is also projecting that a failure to end the fighting will lead to an increase in the number of Syrians fleeing to neighborin...

China opens power transfer by keeping it off-stage BEIJING (AP) — China’s ruling communists opened a pivotal congress to initiate a power handover by giving a nod to their revolutionary past and broadly promising cleaner government while keeping off-stage the main event — the bargaining over seats in the new leadership. All the main players were arrayed on the stage in the Great Hall of the People: President Hu Jintao, his successor Xi Jinping and a collection of retired party insiders. A gold...

Villagers mourn family; Guatemala quake toll at 52 SAN CRISTOBAL CUCHO, Guatemala (AP) — The 10 members of the Vasquez family were found together under the rubble of the rock quarry that had been their livelihood, some in a desperate final embrace, others clinging to the faintest of dying pulses. As Guatemala tried to recover Thursday from a 7.4-magnitude quake, the country mourned a disaster that killed at least 52 people; left thousands of others without homes, electricity or water; and emot...

Obama’s return a test of evolving foreign policy DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Phrases to describe some of the looming foreign policy challenges for President Barack Obama didn’t even exist when he took the oath of office the first time: the Arab Spring, the Fordo Facility housing Iran’s underground uranium enrichment labs, the stealth power of new viruses bearing names such as Stuxnet and Flame in the shadow world of cyber-sabotage. But that also doesn’t mean the list of earlier confli...

Powerful quake hits Guatemala, killing at least 48 SAN MARCOS, Guatemala (AP) — A 7.4-magnitude earthquake rocked Guatemala on Wednesday, killing at least 48 people in two states as it toppled thick adobe walls, shook huge landslides down onto highways, and sent terrified villagers streaming into the streets of this idyllic mountain town near the border with Mexico. One hundred people were missing, and hundreds were injured. The quake, which hit at 10:35 a.m. in the midst of the work day, caus...

Britain: Obama victory an opportunity for Syria BEIRUT (AP) — Britain called on the U.S. and other allies Wednesday to do more to shape the Syrian opposition into a coherent force, saying the re-election of President Barack Obama is an opportunity for the world to take stronger action to end the deadlocked civil war. Also Wednesday, Turkey said NATO members — including the United States — have discussed using Patriot missiles along the Syrian border. It was unclear whether the purpose was t...

Puerto Rico vote endorses statehood with asterisk SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — Puerto Ricans have supported U.S. statehood in a vote that jubilant members of the pro-statehood party say is the strongest sign yet that the Caribbean island territory is on the road to losing its second-class status. But Tuesday’s vote comes with an asterisk and an imposing political reality: The island remains bitterly divided over its relationship to the United States and many question the validity of this week...

EU: Eurozone recession to be worse, rebound slower BRUSSELS (AP) — Europe’s economy is still reeling and unemployment could remain high for years despite the progress made in solving the debt crisis, the European Union warned Wednesday, as it downgraded next year’s forecasts for the 27-country bloc. The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, on Wednesday revised down its forecast for the region’s gross domestic product, which it now expects to grow by just 0.4 percent in 2013, compa...

Suicide bombing kills 5 in northwest Pakistan PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — A police officer says a suicide bombing in northwest Pakistan has killed five people, including three policemen. Asif Iqbal says the attack Wednesday targeted the vehicle of a senior police officer outside a police station in a crowded market in the city of Peshawar. The blast killed the senior officer, two other policemen and two bystanders. The bombing also wounded 20 people. No group has claimed responsibility for ...

Syria envoy warns country could turn into Somalia BEIRUT (AP) — The U.N.-Arab League envoy for Syria warned Tuesday that the country could become another Somalia — where al-Qaida-linked militants and warlords battled for decades after the ouster of a dictator — if the civil war is not ended soon. Battles between regime forces and Syrian rebels left more than 140 people dead across Syria on Tuesday, while the brother of Syria’s parliament speaker was gunned down in Damascus — the latest victim...

Intrigue swirls around Russia defense chief’s fall MOSCOW (AP) — Vladimir Putin fired his powerful defense chief over a corruption scandal Tuesday, but a heady mix of sex, power struggles and military vendettas dominated talk in Russia about what was really behind the downfall of the man who has overseen the nation’s most radical defense reform in decades. The dismissal of Anatoly Serdyukov was a surprise because the burly politician was widely regarded as having the president’s blessing for a...

China hauls away activists in congress crackdown BEIJING (AP) — During her 30-hour train journey to Beijing, Wang Xiulan ducked into bathrooms whenever the conductors checked IDs. Later, as she lay low in the outskirts of the capital, unidentified men caught her in a nighttime raid and hauled her to a police station. She assumed a fake identity to get away, and is now in hiding again. Wang’s not a criminal. She’s a petitioner. She’s among many people attempting to bring local complaints dire...

US college student stabbed in Rome after party ROME (AP) — A U.S. student at an American university in Rome was stabbed about 25 times by a fellow student as he slept following Halloween night partying at a club and is hospitalized in serious condition, police said Thursday. The alleged assailant, an American-born student with both U.S. and Italian citizenship, was arrested early Thursday in a Rome apartment near the Colosseum and will likely face a court appearance on Friday, police said....

Syria rebels kill 78 soldiers, attack checkpoints BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian rebels killed 78 soldiers on Thursday, about half of them in attacks on military checkpoints in the north just hours after a wave of bombings hit the Damascus area, activists said. The unusually high toll for regime forces came after days of intense air bombardment of rebel positions around the country that killed hundreds more. Anti-regime activists say President Bashar Assad’s regime has been making even heavier use than...

Internet rolls into Bangladesh villages on a bike HARABARSHA, Bangladesh (AP) — Amina Begum had never seen a computer until a few years ago, but now she’s on Skype regularly with her husband. A woman on a bicycle brings the Internet to her. Dozens of “Info Ladies” bike into remote Bangladeshi villages with laptops and Internet connections, helping tens of thousands of people — especially women — get everything from government services to chats with distant loved ones. It’s a vital service in ...

Syrians wary of US push to overhaul opposition BEIRUT (AP) — Members of Syria’s opposition-in-exile bristled Thursday at the Obama administration’s suggestion that Washington will handpick more representative leaders at a crucial conference in Qatar next week. The new U.S. push appears aimed at creating a unified leadership that could work more closely with the West. But there are signs of resistance among deeply fractured opposition groups wary of attempts by foreign backers to dictate st...

Hit by crisis, Greek society in free-fall ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A sign taped to a wall in an Athens hospital appealed for civility from patients. “The doctors on duty have been unpaid since May,” it read, “Please respect their work.” Patients and their relatives glanced up briefly and moved on, hardened to such messages of gloom. In a country where about 1,000 people lose their jobs each day, legions more are still employed but haven’t seen a paycheck in months. What used to be an ano...

Putin lays low, spokesman’s reasons seem odd MOSCOW (AP) — What ails Vladimir Putin? The Russian leader whose image of physical vigor is key to his success has canceled several foreign trips in recent weeks, postponed his annual live televised question-and-answer session with average Russians, and has rarely left his suburban residence outside Moscow. A respected Russian newspaper claimed Thursday that a publicity stunt during which Putin tried to lead cranes on their migratory paths in ...

State says go home and sleep, 24/7 Egypt resists CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s capital prides itself on being city that never sleeps, with crowds filling cafes and shops open into till the small hours. So, the government is facing a backlash from businesses and the public as it vows to impose new nationwide rules closing stores and restaurants early. Officials say the step is necessary to conserve electricity in a nation buckling under economic crisis and fuel shortages. But the decision has a strong...